Karl Dönitz
( ) |birth = |death = |cause of death = |occupation = , Politician, Sailor |military branch = Kaiserliche Marine ( ) Kriegsmarine ( ) |political party = (honorary member, 1944–45) |political office= of Germany}} (1945) }} |occupation=Prisoner}} }} Karl Dönitz (16 September 1891 - 24 December 1980) was a German naval Commander who served in the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) during World War I, commanded the German submarine fleet during World War II, and eventually was given control of the entire Kriegsmarine (German Navy). In the final days of the war, Dönitz was named by Adolf Hitler as his successor, and after the ''Führer'' committed suicide, the admiral assumed the office of President (Reichspräsident) of Nazi Germany. He held this position for about 20 days, until the final surrender to the Allies. After the war, Dönitz was convicted of war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials and served ten years in prison. Karl Dönitz in The Man With the Iron Heart Karl Dönitz'Dönitz is not named in the book, but the Point of Divergence does not seem to have changed the composition of the Nuremberg defendants. was one of nearly two dozenThe Man With the Iron Heart'', pg. 260. German officials who were captured by the Allies at the end of World War II. The Allies sought to try Dönitz and the other men for war crimes. These plans were stopped twice by the German Freedom Front, first in November 1945, when the GFF destroyed the Palace of Justice in NurembergIbid., pg. 108. and second in 1946, when the GFF destroyed the American residency zone in Frankfurt with a radium bomb.Ibid., pg. 260. In 1947, the Soviets decided to try the officials in their zone. The GFF prevented this by crashing a plane into the courthouse, killing all the lawyers and judges, but leaving the accused unharmed.Ibid., pg. 407-8. Karl Dönitz in The War That Came Early As commander of the German submarine fleet, '''Karl Dönitz found himself in an awkward position when Julius Lemp sank the American luxury liner [[SS Athenia (The War That Came Early)|SS Athenia]] in early 1939. Dönitz was able to intercede on Lemp's behalf, protecting him from government officials who wanted Lemp's scalp. While he did chew Lemp out, Dönitz did not remove him from his command.Hitler's War, pgs. 323-326. From then on, however, Dönitz directly supervised Lemp as much as possible. Thus, later that year, Lemp was meeting with Dönitz to debrief Lemp on his cruise in Norway when Dönitz received a phone call alerting him of a failed attempt to overthrow Adolf Hitler.West and East, pgs. 371-373. As Lemp continued to do well, Dönitz gave Lemp more important (and dangerous) tasks. In Spring 1940, for example, Dönitz ordered Lemp to scan the English coastline to determine whether or not Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess had successfully flown into Britain. Dönitz however, pointedly kept Lemp in the dark as to why Lemp was looking for any plane-wreckage.The Big Switch, pgs. 152-155. Dönitz was part of the military faction that remained loyal to Hitler even as the war turned dramatically against Germany by 1944.Last Orders, pg. 248-251. References Category:Admirals Category:Supreme Military Commanders Category:War Criminals